Shifting career goals

[pvwall17]

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I'm in my Senior year of getting a degree in Journalism, but now I think I want to go into Pharmacy. I haven't taken any hard sciences or math (beyond the requisite courses). I've been looking at different programs in my state, and if I went back to school, I would need to take Bio I & II, Chem I & II, Organic Chem I & II, Stats, Calc I, and Econ (macro or micro). My tentative plan is to take Econ before I graduate, and take the rest of them at a community college with a Pre-Pharm program.

My GPA as of right now is 2.7 (rounded). I know that sucks, but I hope to pull it up by the time I graduate. Math and science are not my strong suit, and I'm dreading all of them. The long long loooong shot is to study like crazy for a few months and then CLEP out Bio and Chem, and then focus on the Math and Organic, but I'm guessing knowing the math is a prereq for Chem.

I also know I'll need to take the PCAT, but I want to maybe take a prep course before I try it. I don't know if they work, or should I take more of the prereqs before trying to take the test.

I'd like you guys' opinions. Am I crazy for trying this? Should I maybe try and get a Pharmacy Tech certification instead and then apply to Pharm school (I know they said you only need 30 hours of the prereqs and the PCAT) or what? I'm not too happy about staying into another 4-6 semesters, but I figure I'm much more capable of handling college now that I'm older and more mature, and while I'm still in "school mode". I figure if I wait a few years to go back to school, I wont want to. Also, how should I broach the courses I'd need to take? I know part of success in college is taking the right classes at the right time. Thank you.

 

[tomk]

don't clep anything, you'll just be wasting your time and have to take the classes anyways.

pharm schools don't accept clep for prerequisites.

 

[busyizzy]

Also, you might want to reconsider. If math and science are not your strong suits... is this field really for you? Pharmacy is very science-heavy, and if you are not confidant you can handle undergraduate level courses, you might have to reconsider that.

Of course, if you really want it, you can put your heart and mind to it, and succeed in those prereq classes - it will just be that much harder for you. Keep in mind that completing prereqs is not the end of it. You have 4 more years of hard science classes to complete successfully.

 

[BugsNDrugs]

Sorry if I missed it, but do you have experience in pharmacy? If not, I would recommend you either get a job at a pharmacy or shadow a pharmacist for a bit. This will give you an idea of what life as a pharmacist is REALLY like. You will need some strong pre-req grades to bring up your GPA too, so consider that if you're not very good at chemistry or math. There is A LOT of math involved in pharmacy. Good luck!

 

[RXDIVA]

I agree with the previous post to shadow a pharmacist.
Also, you should not clep the basics in biology and chemistry because they make a great portion of the PCAT, and if you say that science is not your strongest field, then you most definitely need a strong foundation. Also keep in mind that the higher level courses in math and science are more in depth and require a thorough understanding of the basics.
I'm sure that with dedication it is attainable, good luck!

 

[charfdorn]

I'm in my Senior year of getting a degree in Journalism, but now I think I want to go into Pharmacy. I haven't taken any hard sciences or math (beyond the requisite courses). I've been looking at different programs in my state, and if I went back to school, I would need to take Bio I & II, Chem I & II, Organic Chem I & II, Stats, Calc I, and Econ (macro or micro). My tentative plan is to take Econ before I graduate, and take the rest of them at a community college with a Pre-Pharm program.

My GPA as of right now is 2.7 (rounded). I know that sucks, but I hope to pull it up by the time I graduate. Math and science are not my strong suit, and I'm dreading all of them. The long long loooong shot is to study like crazy for a few months and then CLEP out Bio and Chem, and then focus on the Math and Organic, but I'm guessing knowing the math is a prereq for Chem.

I also know I'll need to take the PCAT, but I want to maybe take a prep course before I try it. I don't know if they work, or should I take more of the prereqs before trying to take the test.

I'd like you guys' opinions. Am I crazy for trying this? Should I maybe try and get a Pharmacy Tech certification instead and then apply to Pharm school (I know they said you only need 30 hours of the prereqs and the PCAT) or what? I'm not too happy about staying into another 4-6 semesters, but I figure I'm much more capable of handling college now that I'm older and more mature, and while I'm still in "school mode". I figure if I wait a few years to go back to school, I wont want to. Also, how should I broach the courses I'd need to take? I know part of success in college is taking the right classes at the right time. Thank you.

Why do you want to try pharmacy? Figure this out first. Is it the money? Because the money might not be good for much longer. GET EXPOSED TO THE FIELD. If you can get a 4.0 on your science classes, you will be able to get in, but I would hate to see you get through P2 year and decide you don't like the career after all. Then where are you?

Also, don't CLEP. They won't count them.

My honest advice is get a tech job for a year and see how you like it. After a year of that, if you still want to do it, go for it.

 

[Passion4Sci]

I'm in my Senior year of getting a degree in Journalism, but now I think I want to go into Pharmacy. I haven't taken any hard sciences or math (beyond the requisite courses). I've been looking at different programs in my state, and if I went back to school, I would need to take Bio I & II, Chem I & II, Organic Chem I & II, Stats, Calc I, and Econ (macro or micro). My tentative plan is to take Econ before I graduate, and take the rest of them at a community college with a Pre-Pharm program.

My GPA as of right now is 2.7 (rounded). I know that sucks, but I hope to pull it up by the time I graduate. Math and science are not my strong suit, and I'm dreading all of them. The long long loooong shot is to study like crazy for a few months and then CLEP out Bio and Chem, and then focus on the Math and Organic, but I'm guessing knowing the math is a prereq for Chem.

I also know I'll need to take the PCAT, but I want to maybe take a prep course before I try it. I don't know if they work, or should I take more of the prereqs before trying to take the test.

I'd like you guys' opinions. Am I crazy for trying this? Should I maybe try and get a Pharmacy Tech certification instead and then apply to Pharm school (I know they said you only need 30 hours of the prereqs and the PCAT) or what? I'm not too happy about staying into another 4-6 semesters, but I figure I'm much more capable of handling college now that I'm older and more mature, and while I'm still in "school mode". I figure if I wait a few years to go back to school, I wont want to. Also, how should I broach the courses I'd need to take? I know part of success in college is taking the right classes at the right time. Thank you.

Why do you want to go into pharmacy (a profession where hands-on with "hard sciences" is a daily task) if you're dreading science pre-requisites????

I agree with the previous posters. First, shadow a Pharmacist, volunteer at a hospital/Red Cross, or get your CphT, and give it a whirl. Hell, even buy the Mosby's Pharm Tech. study guide and you'll see so much math your head will spin (If these subjects are not your "strong suit".)

I know where you're coming from, OP. I was headed right into a social sciences field (Already enrolled in a Doctorate-level degree program) and I took a pharmacology class that turned a light on in my brain. Before I knew it, I was signed up for chemical calculations, algebra, and biology and I, like you, hadn't taken a single 'hard science' beyond the requisite stuff for GE for my 2 Bachelor's degrees.

The difference between me and you was I wasn't dreading it, I was looking forward to it.

It is of grave concern to me that you're worried about not liking the very foundation upon which the institution of Pharmacy is built - Math and Chemistry.

 

[charfdorn]

To avoid overwhelming the OP with replies, maybe we should hold off until he gets a chance to respond to the 7 different pieces of advice he/she already has? Unless you have a brilliant new thought... I wish I'd thought of this earlier because my post wasn't all that great. Sorry.

 

[drugdoc]

Sorry if I missed it, but do you have experience in pharmacy? If not, I would recommend you either get a job at a pharmacy or shadow a pharmacist for a bit. This will give you an idea of what life as a pharmacist is REALLY like. You will need some strong pre-req grades to bring up your GPA too, so consider that if you're not very good at chemistry or math. There is A LOT of math involved in pharmacy. Good luck!

LOTS of chemistry, too! More than I even thought originally.